♡ Gamblers to lovers♡ (Mary Saotome x reader)

Chapter 4

«This is a special day», you said to yourself. You couldn't help feeling admiration for Mary; and, even if your act wasn't that important, you were delighted about the fact that you could be useful for her.

As you expected, there was a table in the room, and they would play a one versus one game. What you didn't expect, though, was the game they were going to play. You were willing to learn a new game by seeing Mary play it, she wanted to learn new sides of her, and maybe a face that Mary hadn't shown to her yet...

However, that didn't happen. The game was Blackjack 1:1, again... But was that actually bad? In fact, that made you feel confident about the game. You knew what Mary was able to do, and knew, especially, the pleasure you felt the first time you saw her playing Blackjack. It was something different. In the end, you felt relieved, since you assumed beforehand what was going to happen.

—How much would you like to bet this time? —Mary asked, looking at Sumeragi with a slight smile on her face — or should I use the word "spend"?

—You won't have the same luck this time, so don't be so confident. 50.000 yen will be fine.

—If you say so...

Both of them frowned with an evil expression on their faces. They decided that Mary would be the dealer for the first, third and fifth round, and Tsumeragi would be the dealer for the second and the fourth. «I've got to ask Mary about this after the game», you thought, thinking that it was a strategy she learned during your encounter.

—Take your cards —Mary said, and made one of her iconic blinks —. Don't forget to use them wisely.

You kept wondering about the meaning of that. Why would she say that to her rival? That's another thing she had to ask her.

The first round wasn't very intense. However, they all knew the intensity would do a crescendo. It couldn't be any other way, especially with Mary and Tsumeragi in that room. Even if Mary won that round easily, she wouldn't let her energy slip away.

—Didn't I tell you to use your cards wisely?

—Yes —Sumeragi answered —, you did. You'll get the reason why in a while.

—Let's see the reason why then —Mary blinked confidently again after saying that.

«She's so cool —You thought, and started to imagine the situation they'd have when the gamble ends —. It makes me want to gamble with her again. I just hope she still wants to, in this insane school that forces people not to count on anyone».

Mary looked at you for a short time. It was an embarrassing look, but it actually gave her confidence; she needed to remember that you were still there. After all, she invited you to the game for a reason. Mary doesn't do things just because.

—I warn you —declared Sumeragi —. If you cheated in the past round, you won't be able to do it again in this one. I'll be the dealer.

Mary giggled.

—I'm actually grateful that you think I could be cheating. Thank you!

Mary checked out her cards rapidly: a seven of clubs and an eight of hearts. Fifteen points in total. It was obvious she had to hit, but she enjoyed generating a feeling of doubt and disconcert over her rivals. That's why it took her a long time to actually hit. She wanted to boost Tsumeragi's confidence in order to make her fall harder than ever.

—What's going on? —Sumeragi said, with a mocking tone of voice that was common of her — do you need any more time? I have all the time in the world this time!

—You aren't saying that your last defeat was because you lacked time, are you?
—Of course not —she asseverated —. I'm just letting you know about it. After all, our last gamble was under pressure, and it doesn't really represent who's better.